March 22, 2010 in Features

Jerry’s churning out hits

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Bruckheimer
(Full-size photo)

Like most people who receive lifetime-achievement awards, Jerry Bruckheimer wants everyone to know he’s not finished yet.

“Hopefully, there’s more to come,” said Bruckheimer, the producer of such franchises as “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “National Treasure” and “Beverly Hills Cop,” who received a career prize Thursday night at closing ceremonies of the ShoWest convention for theater owners.

Before the awards, ShoWest crowds got their first look at Bruckheimer’s next potential franchise — “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time,” an action adventure starring Jake Gyllenhaal that opens May 28. Bruckheimer follows with another summer offering July 16, “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” an action comedy with “National Treasure” star Nicolas Cage.

Bruckheimer is developing a third installment in the “National Treasure” series, which stars Cage as an unorthodox history scholar racing to unlock hidden secrets that lead to vanished riches.

Filming begins in June on “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” the fourth installment in the franchise starring Johnny Depp as woozy buccaneer Capt. Jack Sparrow.

Bruckheimer, 62, said he knew he wanted to go into show business by the time he was 5 or 6. It was just a matter of figuring out the right job.

“I knew that acting wasn’t something I would be good at. I’m not the kind of person who likes to stand in front of the crowd and pound my chest,” Bruckheimer said. “I’m more the person who likes to be behind the scenes and make sure everything goes right.”

The birthday bunch

Stephen Sondheim is 80. William Shatner is 79. M. Emmet Walsh is 75. Singer-guitarist George Benson is 67. Andrew Lloyd Webber is 62. Bob Costas is 58. Matthew Modine is 51. Reese Witherspoon is 34.

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